Tag: forgive

We’ve all heard of the silent treatment. We all know the sadness and guilt we feel when we’re on the receiving end of it. On the other end, we’ve also…

We’ve all heard of the silent treatment. We all know the sadness and guilt we feel when we’re on the receiving end of it. On the other end, we’ve also experienced the anger and pain that build up when we cut someone out of our life or decide to choose bitterness over forgiveness.

Silence can result in guilt, regret, sadness, and so much more. When we don’t confront a problem or simply ignore it, the result is almost always worse than what it would’ve been if we would’ve given up silence as a boundary in the first place.

Think about this situation for example. You and your roommates are in a fight, and instead of confronting the problem, you allow it to build up over time and continue to sweep it under the rug. This can either make the problem worse, or never solve anything in the long run… Neither are the outcome you would want!

God looks at these situations and wants us to extend love, forgiveness, and patience. When we approach conflict the way God does, the outcome will be better every single time.

Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

God sent his one and only son to pay the price for our sins. He forgives us instantly, without holding a grudge or keeping a track record. So, why wouldn’t we do the same for other people?

This reminds me of the story from the Bible of Peter asking Jesus about forgiveness.

Matthew 18:21-22 says, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Jesus then preaches the parable of the unforgiving debtor. The story tells of a king discussing the debt of his servants. One in particular owed the king millions and millions of dollars, but had little to no money to repay him. The servant begged for the king to forgive him, and the king was filled with pity for him. He released the servant and forgave him of his debt.

But when the servant left, he came across a man that owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded him to pay him the money. When the king heard about this, he threw the servant in jail until he had paid his entire debt.

Matthew 18:35 says, “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

God doesn’t just want us to swallow our pride and forgive others, he demands it. We can’t go through life holding grudges and using silence as a barrier. In the end, this solves nothing, leaving us angrier than we were before.

Take these lessons from the Bible and apply them to your life. Once we start taking Jesus’s advice on how to resolve conflict, life will go a whole smoother!

We live in such a sinful world that we don’t even think about the sin surrounding us daily. Sin is such a part of our lives that half the time…

We live in such a sinful world that we don’t even think about the sin surrounding us daily. Sin is such a part of our lives that half the time we don’t even realize we’re doing anything wrong in the first place.

Think of the last time you gossiped or got angry with someone. You probably didn’t even consciously think about the fact that you could be sinning by doing so.

Although we’re not perfect, Jesus has given us the free, undeserving gift of forgiveness and mercy. We are sinful people living in a sinful world, yet there is so much love and grace in store for us.

There’s a song called What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong Worship and there’s a line that I fell in love with the first time I heard it. The lyric says, “my sin was great, your love was greater,” and that has always stuck with me since I heard it. We often get so wrapped up in our own sin that we forget how powerful the love of God is.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Once you’ve been redeemed by Christ, you are no longer drowning in sin. You’re a new creation, made pure and perfect in his sight. We oftentimes beat ourselves up for the sins we’ve committed. I know I do at least! But knowing that I am forgiven and made blameless in his sight gives me the hope I need for the days to come.

Psalm 103:12 says, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Think about the significance of this verse. The east to the west is never ending. It goes on and on and never stops. God removes our sins from us and never thinks of them again. In Micah 7:19, it says, “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” To think our Heavenly Father forgets the wrongs we’ve done against him is amazing and something we are so undeserving of.

It’s natural to feel regret and pain for the things we’ve done in our life, but we can’t forget who our creator is. His love is so big and so wide, and he wants us to know the depth of his mercy and forgiveness.

If we don’t think God truly forgives us for what we’ve done in the past, then we don’t know who God is at all. Have faith and dive deeper into what is character really is. He is merciful, loving, caring, and perfect in all that he is.

I’ll leave you with a quote I found that gave me a peace over my heart. It says, “God is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Write this on your mirror, make this your phone background, put it on a sticky note on your dashboard. Read it and believe it. God’s love overcomes all sin, today and every day!

Forgiving someone can be one of the hardest things in the world. It’s something that we most of the time don’t want to do and would rather just forget about…

Forgiving someone can be one of the hardest things in the world.It’s something that we most of the time don’t want to do and would rather just forget about the situation.But once you master how to truly and purely forgive someone from the heart, your whole outlook will change!Here are some tips to learn how you can forgive like Jesus would.

There are two passages that pretty much sum up how and why we should forgive others.The first passage, Ephesians 4:31-32, says this: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Because God freely and generously forgives you, you should extend the same grace and forgiveness to others.It can be extremely difficult, but getting rid of the bitterness and anger in your heart will do both you and them much more good than you realize!

The second verse, Isaiah 1:18, says: ““Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.””If God can settle any matter, we should strive to do the same.He forgives even our darkest mistakes.If He can do this, we should extend the same forgiveness to anyone, despite how “in the wrong” they might be.

Clean your heart from any grudges or negativity and forgive others as Jesus forgives you!

Carrying around resentment and anger is so unhealthy. It is hard to forgive someone who did you wrong, but forgiveness is a powerful thing. Forgiveness is accepting what happened, acknowledging…

Carrying around resentment and anger is so unhealthy. It is hard to forgive someone who did you wrong, but forgiveness is a powerful thing. Forgiveness is accepting what happened, acknowledging your feelings, and then letting them go. Forgiveness isn’t just for the person who hurt you, it for yourself too. Here is how you know you are ready to forgive and how to do it when the time is right.

Forgive yourself and let go: Give yourself time to release all of the emotions you are feeling and recognize when you are ready. Next, understand that it is ok to feel shame or embarrassment or shame because of what happened. Then forgive yourself. Realize we all make mistakes and that no one is perfect.

Talk it out: It doesn’t have to be out loud. Talk through the whole thing in your head. And next time you see the person who hurt you, you don’t have to verbally say “I forgive you” because that may just be plain awkward. You can show them you have forgiven them by your actions instead. But then again, sometimes it is good to verbally talk things through. It may make you feel better if you are able to communicate your hurt to the person but at the same time let them know you have moved past it. It really depends on you and the situation!

Know the boundaries: Forgiving the person doesn’t mean things are going back to the way they used to be. That may take time, or it may never happen. Setting boundaries like limiting the amount of time you spend with that person, or avoiding certain situations that you know could be trouble is wise. Avoid falling back into the cycle that caused the hurt and know how to avoid it.

Forgiving someone takes a lot of humility and it takes a strong person. It isn’t easy, but it is so worth it.